The holidays are full of delicious food, old friends, and all-too-rare chances to catch up with our families. But they can also be totally anxiety-inducing, especially if we feel like we're walking on eggshells around our beloved family members and if we over indulgence in food, drink and lack of down time.

I thought it important to share with you my tips on how to make the summer break. It's been a big and long year and you need this time to recharge and recalibrate.

We all feel anxious in the workplace from time to time. Given the daily pressures, such as meeting deadlines, facing competition from colleagues and unwarranted demands of bosses, can often bog down your physical and mental wellbeing. The first step to relieving yourself from a stressor is to acknowledge its existence. Anxiety is inevitable when we have a rough week at work, where the situation is so taxing that it builds up and forms a stress response in the body.

Many of you will have gotten back into running for the City 2 Surf earlier this month and so I wanted to share my tips with you for running mindfully. If you can’t sit still to meditate, why not try to incorporate mindfulness into your run?

I reckon you aren’t alone. Many of us if we are honest would rather be in a different career, a different relationship, goodness even a different hair style than what we have. I know that was me for many many years.

We have these little day dreams of a different life and then go back to the routine, the existing, the life.

I often hear of people say they just want to run away and change.

I think many stay because while they don’t they don’t enjoy where they are, they don’t know how to change or even how to be honest as to what it is exactly you want.

I see many many people in this situation and help them understand themselves.

How often does someone ask you “How are you” and you reply automatically with “fine”. What does fine mean? There is a full spectrum of emotions from happy to sad, from good to bad and we very rarely acknowledge which emotion we are experiencing. If you are sad, I want you to know why and how to let it go and goodness if you are happy I want you to enjoy it and know that you deserve it.

I work with you so that you can live in the real world and still achieve happiness, emotional awareness, ways to understand and deal with stress, have meaningful relationships with family, friends and colleagues, embrace change, plan for the future, enjoy the present and let go of the past.

If you know someone who could benefit from this work, get them to email me or call me to book their first free consultation.

We forget that our emotions need cleaning and management. From a young age we learn how to brush our teeth and go to the dentist for regular checkups to avoid getting tooth decay. But we aren't always thought how important it is to recognise emotions and how to deal with them. If you are happy be happy and allow yourself to be happy. And if you are sad understand what the sadness is, where it is coming from and how to deal with it in a positive and healthy way.

We have become so disconnected from our emotional side that we don;t feel anymore and when we do we push it down and down and down until we burst alittle.

This is a great Tedx talk by Dr Guy Winch on how and why you should practice emotional hygiene, taking care of the inside as well as the outside of the self.

We all know what we have to do to stay physically healthy. But what about mental wellbeing? Though we are far more open today in talking about our emotional difficulties than was the case with previous generations, psychological health is something many of us nevertheless take for granted - or, worse yet, assume beyond our conscious control.

This isn't the case at all. Happiness is something we can all work towards, with the correct approach.

1 Connect With People Around You

When you go to the shop, say 'hello' to the person next to you in the queue. At the bus-stop, remove your headphones and engage with the people around. Call (yes call, don’t text) a friend you haven’t spoken to in a while. Spend time with your family and extended family.

2 Deal With Stress

We all have our personal 'stress triggers'. Learn to recognise these and take steps to lesson their impact. To be clear, stress is, of itself, not a bad thing: it can help us perform more efficiently and achieve difficult goals. The problem is when stress takes over and we start to feel helpless. If you have difficulty winding down, look again at your work life balance. And consider ways to relax - including, if required, yoga and meditation.

3 Be Active

It's a creaky adage and yet it's true - a healthy mind makes for a healthy body, Run, walk, cycle, spend time in the garden - whatever it is, be conscious that, in terms of mental health and mood, your body is hugely important. The two are intrinsically linked.

4 Ask For Help

If you feel you cannot cope, reach out. If work is too much, request time off. Should the demands of parenting begin to overwhelm, arrange for a friend or family member to look after the kids - or book a babysitter for the night. As the pressures of day to day life crowd in, it is easy to feel isolated, which can have a hugely negative impact on your state of mind. So understand that people are, by their nature, helpful - and will be there if you need them.

5 Notice The Here and Now

Caught up in the rush to be best at everything - the best employee, the best parent, the best son or daughter - life can flash by without your noticing. I am always struck by the number of people who will go running or walking outside and not pay attention to the environment they are in. You have to ask yourself what am I eating and seeing? What is going on next door to me? The simple act of noticing is hugely important. You have to be able to tune into your experience what am I feeling? How do I react to a particular situation?

6 Take A Breather

Regular sleep is crucial for healthy emotions. If you are physically exhausted, chances are you will experience mental exhaustion too. Aim for a set routine, going to bed and getting up at the same time through the week, including weekends.

7 Keep Learning

Learning stimulates your mind. When you master something or achieve a new piece of knowledge, there is an enormous feel-good factor.

This is true through all phases of life - and applies to young people as much as to older individuals. The learning habits you pick up early in life will stand to you. If you are inquisitive as a child and develop a love of learning, it will carry you through your later years. Learning challenges the brain, a stimulation that will play its part warding off depression.

8 Eat Well

Our brain requires the correct nutrients to function optimally. A healthy balanced diet will make you feel better about yourself. Conversely, binging on junk food will leave you listless and rundown - emotionally as well as physically. We know it can be difficult after a long, draining day. However, if you make the effort to eat healthily in the long run it will to your physical and mental benefit.

9 Help Others

Selfless acts assist in 'plugging' into your local community, fostering a sense of belonging. If we look out for others, the benefits to ourselves are considerable. You start to feel as if you are part of something larger than yourself. Giving means different things to different age groups. If you are 15, maybe it is being generous to your friends, if you are 35 perhaps it has do to with participating in sport, helping your team mates. Everyone is different.

10 Don't Be Too Hard on Yourself

We are often our own worst critics. While it is good to be self-aware and not sleepwalk, smugly and unwittingly, through life, by the same token, you shouldn't beat yourself up whenever something does not proceed exactly to plan. We have all been knocked off stride and had to pick ourselves up. Every misstep and reversal is a learning opportunity - you'll come back stronger and better prepared next time.

Wellness everyday is something that I believe passionately about. What it is, is enjoying everyday and taking time each day to look after yourself physically and emotionally.

So many of us rush through the week, the month, the year and indeed life without taking stock of things and being in control. It often takes something to shake us up such as a health scare, a redundancy or divorce to force us to check in. We shouldn't have to wait for something awful to happen or save up for a holiday to make a change.

Start today.

I have simple methods and rituals that you can EASILY incorporate into your daily life so as to start seeing the benefits.

Join me for an intimate two hour session where I will share these tips with you.